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Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Character Development - Anne and Kate Part 1

Character Development – Anne and Kate LawrenceBecause I have two heroines and two heroes, this will be posted in two parts.

Heroine: Anne – Suzanne Lawrence, Sioux Anne – age 19-Job: Wannabe debutante – Anne’s father is a merchant in Natchez, Mississippi, post-Civil War. She sometimes helps her father out since her brother has not returned from the war yet. She does her best to try and win over the local Southern “ladies” who have cut out her family because her father opted to sell to the Yankee army when Natchez was invaded.-Appearance: About 5’0”. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Very soft-spoken and proper. Slight frame, but still curvaceous. Often deemed bird-like.-Intellect: Anne is well-educated; despite the war, her father was able to keep her in books, and she helped in his store as well, so she’s good with numbers. She also is in charge of managing the household, so she is extremely intelligent and competent.-Family: Fraternal twin, Kate. Father, Charles Lawrence, brother Theodore (Teddy). Mother died due to illness near start of war. (4 years ago)-History: When the Civil War broke, Anne and her sister were only 13 years old. Their brother Teddy left to fight for the South, even though they did not believe in slavery, they still believed the South’s rights. When illness broke out in Natchez early in the war, their mother died, and their father was devastated. By the time the city was invaded and held by Yankee soldiers, the family was no longer in support of the war, and Charles opted to do the inevitable and turned to supply the Yankee army in order to keep his daughters safe. Contact with Teddy at that point was impossible, and he could not come home. Now that the war is over, they expect Teddy to arrive at any moment. They had heard through Yankee officers that he had been held in a prison, and with the war over, the prison had released everyone, though they must come home on foot.-Attitude: Anne is sweet and seemingly pliable. She seeks to please everyone around her, yet has a backbone of steel for dealing with unpleasant things, so it is difficult to shake her composure. She wants to be liked, and would like nothing more than to be accepted by society. She dreams of meeting a handsome man to sweep her off her feet, get married and have children. She is the consummate home-maker.-Perceptions: Everyone who meets Anne loves her for her sweetness. Because her father unfortunately turned ‘traitor’, the rest of Natchez ‘society’ acts like they shun her, though secretly they wish nothing more but to welcome her back whole-heartedly. Unfortunately, she also has the complication of her sister, Kate… More on that later! On the other hand, because she is such a beauty and with such sweet charm, she is a top candidate for suitors, so she is never invited to big parties, just tea with the ladies.-Aspirations: Anne dreams of marriage and children, running her own household and becoming a society lady. Beyond that, she is content so long as she can care for those around her.-Hobbies: Reading, Music, and all things domestic. She also plays card games with her sister Kate to keep her amused, so she knows a lot about gambling.-Goals: To meet a man and fall in love, get married and have babies. She also hopes that her sister Kate will calm down and do the same, though she does sometimes envy her free-spiritedness.

Heroine: Kate – Katherine Lawrence, Kiowa Kate – age 19-Job: Scallywag and Tomboy– Kate is the black sheep of the family. Her father is indulgent, and in the absence of her brother, it was Kate to whom he taught the rudiments of riding, shooting, gambling, and the rest of what were considered “manly” pursuits. His philosophy is that Kate will some day grow out of it, he trusts in her judgment and ability to take care of herself. Indeed, she can fight with the best of them, and any man stupid enough to tangle with her quickly regrets it. She likes to wear breeches, and is often filthy because of hard riding in rough terrain. She gambles quite a bit, and has done her part to relieve many Yankee soldiers of their ‘hard-earned’ money, so she has helped to support the family, and has quite a stash of her own.-Appearance: About 5’8”. Red-haired and green-eyed. Slender and athletic build, but curved in all the right places. She raises quite a few brows, towering over not a few men, and scandalizing everyone with her tendency to wear men’s clothes and show off her curves. She enjoys fights with men who try to take drunken liberties.-Intellect: Kate is extremely perceptive, but not interested in book smarts. She has been educated like her sister, but has turned her brain towards figuring out things like counting cards and figuring out if people are bluffing. She covers this quick intellect with outrageous actions like challenging people to fights, drinking people into oblivion, and having shooting contests. People don’t even realize Kate is taking advantage of them, writing her off as a half-wit woman.-Family: same as Anne-History: same as Anne-Aspirations: Kate has absolutely no clue what to do with her life. She enjoys gambling, drinking, fighting, riding, etc. but has no real ambition in life so far. She has saved a lot of money, and thinks maybe one day she might start her own bar… or something. She finds men attractive, but has yet to find one she can’t outwit, so they aren’t particularly challenging or interesting, so she has no real interest in marriage. She enjoys upsetting the status quo (obviously), and laughs when the society ladies talk about her. She realizes this hurts her sister Anne and immediately feels sorry, but Anne is such a sweet and forgiving soul, she quickly forgets.-Attitudes: Devil may care, Kate does what she wants and truly doesn’t care what other people think. She is deliberately antagonistic, and fiercely defensive of her family. Any perceived insult could set her off. She enjoys gambling because of the challenge in outwitting an opponent.-Perceptions: Although she is very beautiful, Kate is considered rude and scandalous. ‘Society’ decries her behavior, and the local population of Yankee soldiers has often underestimated her. She has never actually broken the law, but certainly tries her best to incite and infuriate people.-Hobbies: Drinking, gambling, riding, fighting, shooting, pissing people off.-Goals: Rather aimless at the moment. Steadily increasing her income, but not sure exactly what to do with it.

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This blog follows my journeys in writing; the entire creative process from idea formulation and inspirations, to the pitfalls and struggles of everyday life as it competes for my attention. With the goal of someday becoming a published author, I shall also delve into the realm of possibly self-publishing. Join me, comments are always welcome, and I would love to talk to other authors and readers alike!